NATIONAL GAY & LESBIAN TASK FORCE
PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Robin Kane, (202) 332-6483, ext. 3311; rakngltf@aol.com
STATEMENT FROM THE NATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN TASK FORCE ON THE END OF REV. MEL
WHITE'S FAST & INCARCERATION
Washington, DC -- March 9, 1995 -- The following statement was issued by the
National Gay and Lesbian Task Force (NGLTF) in response to the release of
Rev. Mel White following 23-days of fasting and incarceration. Rev. White,
who is now openly gay and is a former ghostwriter for Rev. Pat Robertson, was
arrested February 15 at the headquarters of the Christian Broadcasting
Network (CBN). White and a delegation of gay and straight clergy went to CBN
to request a meeting with Robertson to discuss Robertson's extensive use of
anti-gay rhetoric in his various media and political entities, including the
700 Club and the Christian Coalition. White was released late last night
following a meeting with Robertson in jail during which Robertson did condemn
violence against gay and lesbian people. White has also asked Robertson to
condemn those who incite anti-gay violence through rhetoric and other means.
The following statement is attributable to Robin Kane, NGLTF spokesperson.
We applaud Rev. White's campaign to confront anti-gay bigotry. We commend
his efforts to educate Pat Robertson and others about the dangerous impact of
anti-gay rhetoric, as well as to discuss the shocking prevalence of anti-gay
violence in this country. Like Rev. White, we believe that the
misinformation Robertson spreads about gay issues endangers the lives of gay,
lesbian and bisexual people.
Robertson's initial refusal to meet with White, followed by White's arrest
and imprisonment, reveal that Robertson is threatened by the truth -- the
truth about gay and lesbian people, the truth as told to him by fellow people
of faith.
Rev. White made two simple but important requests of Pat Robertson -- that
he acknowledge that anti-gay/lesbian violence exists and is growing in this
country and that he condemn the people who commit or incite such violence.
While Robertson did condemn anti-gay violence yesterday, he continues to
insist that his comments are not anti-gay and do not negatively impact gay
people.
It is disingenuous for a preacher to discount the power of the spoken word.
Through his media empire, Robertson does hold power to influence public
opinion on gay and lesbian issues. To date, Robertson has used that power to
vilify gays and lesbians. He has equated gay people with Satanists and Nazis
and has pointed to homosexuality as an indicator of the depravity of today's
society.
When Robertson consistently dehumanizes a group of people and blames them
for society's problems, he helps create an atmosphere where violence is
inevitable.
We hope Robertson will agree to meet with the delegation from Parents and
Friends of Lesbians and Gays so that he can learn first-hand the pain and
discrimination lesbian, gay and bisexual people and their families face as a
result of his rhetoric. And we call on clergy of conscious and all people of
faith to challenge Pat Robertson's politics of oppression.
###